How did Black Friday — the day of mega-amazing colossal unbelievable can’t-be-beat blow-out sales signifying the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season — get its name? Some would say Black Friday marks the point many retailers turn a profit for the year, going from being “in the red” to being “in the black.” The more cynical among us might argue it’s consumerism run amok and a black mark on our society.  Though the origins of the name may be debatable, the lure of Black Friday is undeniable.

Admit it. Most of us can be…a little superficial.  Maybe your winter coat is Canada Goose, your boots are Sorel and your fleece is Arc’teryx; you order double ristretto venti half-soy nonfat decaf organic chocolate brownie iced vanilla double-shot gingerbread Frappuccino extra hot with foam whipped cream upside down double blended, one  Low and one NutraSweet, and ice because it’s Starbucks and no one drinks ‘coffee’ anymore, and; you want to buy that ruggedly sexy SUV you’ve seen on safari travel shows; the one all the celebs drive, cuz you know, it  will undoubtedly impress your friends.  Yes, about some things – we can be brand snobs.

Thinking about buying a car in Ontario? OMVIC has an interactive Car-Buying Quiz to help educate consumers about their rights.

A former Scarborough car dealer, Min Tian o/a Nice Auto Sales, pleaded guilty to retaining an unregistered salesperson, contrary to the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act (MVDA), and was fined $12,500. Tian was charged by OMVIC, Ontario’s vehicle sales regulator, for allowing her husband, Zhijun Wang, to use her OMVIC Registration and ID to gain access to wholesale vehicle auctions where he purchased numerous vehicles. Many of the vehicles were then sold with rolled back odometers or altered VIN’s. Wang was also charged by OMVIC for acting as an unregistered salesperson: he was convicted and fined $25,000

On a wintery day in 2016, roads slicked with freezing rain, Tian Cheng Kuang was behind the wheel of his 2013 Mercedes Benz C350 and found himself sliding into the Hyundai Sedan stopped in front of him. Kuang stated he wasn’t going fast but when he stepped from his car he found “the front end almost fell off,” and he wondered, “how come my Mercedes Benz isn’t stronger than a Hyundai?” The answer, it turned out, had everything to do with the history of the Mercedes and resulted in the dealer who sold Kuang the car being charged by OMVIC, Ontario’s vehicle sales regulator, for making false, misleading or deceptive representations in contravention of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA).

The way people communicate today…has changed, especially when texting. It’s almost a
new language: “TTFN” “IMHO” “SMH” “AFAIK.” We may pretend we understand, but secretly we’re making a mental note to look up those abbreviations later.  All those capital letters, numbers and abbreviations— it makes one long for the days of handwritten correspondence when we actually took the time to spell out words.

Little is more confusing than acronyms. You know what an acronym is, right? That would be an  abbreviation formed from the first letter of other words and pronounced as a word, as in OMVIC [spell this out phonetically] the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council—not to be confused with an initialism—an abbreviation consisting of the first letter of other words, but pronounced separately as in MTO, the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.

Car-buyers have the right to expect Ontario dealers to include all fees and charges the dealer intends to collect, with the exception of HST and licensing (and safety standards certificate if the vehicle is advertised unfit/as-is) in any advertised price. It’s been the law since 2010.

Unfortunately though, research conducted by OMVIC, Ontario’s vehicle sales regulator, has uncovered two significant problems: less than half of Ontario car-buyers know they have a right to all-in pricing; and, many are being overcharged because some dealers continue to add fees on top of their advertised prices.